Gordon owns slim lead entering Kansas event
Nobody, particularly NASCAR Nextel Cup star Jeff Gordon, had any idea that his "Drive for Five'' — Jeff Gordon's quest for a fifth championship — would be such a long journey.
But Jeff Gordon, whose last title came in 2001, is looking more and more like the man to beat in his year's Chase for the Championship.
"That's my motivation,'' the 36-year-old Jeff Gordon said in a teleconference. "That's what I'm fired up about. I think we've got the team to be able to pull it off.
"You've got to seize the opportunity when it comes your way and we've got a great opportunity this year. It has been a phenomenal year.''
Jeff Gordon will take a two-point lead over Tony Stewart into Sunday's LifeLock 400 at Kansas Speedway, a place where he has won twice and been in the top five three times.
Jeff Gordon already has four victories this season and would be on the way to a runaway title if not for NASCAR's Chase for the Championship format, which wiped out a huge points lead going into the final 10 races of the year.
"The good thing is, no matter what, it's been a great year for me,'' Jeff Gordon said. "Nothing's going to bring me down, but it sure would be a sweet way to end it by pulling off that championship.''
Jeff Gordon, who became a father earlier this year, said his private life is as good as it's ever been and that has helped him enjoy the season.
"I'm a happy guy,'' he said. "Life is good for me, and I think when life away from the racetrack is good and stable and balanced out, I think it only makes you better at your job. That's the way I've always looked at it, and that's worked for me in the past.
"Things are the best they've ever been so hopefully it pays off on the racetrack this time, too.''
In addition to his four wins, Jeff Gordon has posted an incredible 16 top fives and 22 top 10s in 28 starts.
"The thing I like about our team this year is just how consistent we are, how we step it up when we need to step it up, but we seem to be able to pull off the good finishes when we need the consistency,'' he said.
Jeff Gordon has also gotten off to a solid start in the Chase for the Championship, finishing second behind Emporia's Clint Bowyer in race No. 1 at Loudon, N.H., and taking 11th Sunday at Dover, Del., in a race won by Carl Edwards, of Columbia, Mo.
"I think being consistent, being smart, especially for the first seven or eight races, I think that's going to be the way to win it,'' Jeff Gordon said. "You've got be consistent over the whole 10 to win this thing.''
After opening the Chase with back-to-back races using the Car of Tomorrow, Jeff Gordon and his fellow competitors will race in the current car this weekend at Kansas Speedway.
"I think the biggest challenge in the final 10 is the fact that you have five Car of Tomorrow races and five of the Monte Carlo current car, and have the challenge of going back and forth,'' Jeff Gordon said.
"That's what's going to take a total team effort to be strong.''
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